Mike's brother

Mike Abou

hidden
Translation by Mary Charlie, Edna McCook, Eileen McCook and Sharon Hargus.
Translation of Mike's occasional English words and phrases
into Tsek'ene by Edna McCook. Transcription by Sharon Hargus.
Length:  11:13 (1:24 in English at beginning)
Mike's coughing edited out of recording.
Mike had three older brothers:  George, Wilson, Charlie. He didn't say which older brother this was. Eileen McCook thinks he might have been talking about George.

  1. MA: ...But my brother do anything.

  2. SH: ninii joo

  3. MA: Well he taught me. Dad taught him. And Dad taught me too. But then after that I don't, just me and him mostly out there alone. You see when we got no, hard time days you can't get no ammunition. We run out of shells. We got no way of getting what we want. Maybe we got few shells left and we want to save it. So we we're trying to find our way to how to get what we need. And them days you can't even buy a rabbit snare. Because, so us we use, we make our own rabbit snare.

    4. SH:

  4. Nuzàghè' k'èhdzè'sudàdinii.
    in your languagetell me
    'Tell me in your language.'

  5. MA: no, lhǫ́ la

  6. Khiniich'ah'ùkoomìlhts'ududzii 'èh,gahmìlh'uts'idi'įį.
    we alonethosesnarewe twist andrabbitsnarewe have for ourselves
    'We are the only ones who twist snares, and we make ourselves rabbit snares.'

  7. Kudadowajoo'ukelhun'ùkoomìlh'uts'idi'įį.
    mooseforalsothick babichethosesnarewe have for ourselves
    'We also made ourselves thick (moose) hide snare for moose.'

  8. Babalatsà'mìlhjoo'edììh.
    my dadᴄᴇʀᴛbeaversnarealsohe knows
    'Daddy knew how to make a beaver snare.'

  9. 'Uyiilasinii'udoomesdììh.
    thatᴄᴇʀᴛInotI know it
    'I don't know that.'

  10. Khwudighelayedììh.
    my older brotherᴄᴇʀᴛhe knows it
    'My brother knew.'

  11. Tsà'mìlh'ah'įį.
    beaversnarehe's making
    'He made beaver snares.'

  12. Tehmìlh'èht'e.
    fishnetit looks like
    'They look like a fishnet.'

  13. Tsà'yut'ùgwuchda,he keep going theredughelh nì'---yu'èhdughelh nì'ąh.
    beaverit goes inwhenby means of itin a ballit curls up
    'When the beaver goes in there it'll just get (all tangled up) into a ball.'

  14. Kusk'ehdzelatsà'k'eghughǫh.
    that's howᴄᴇʀᴛbeaverthey kill pl.
    'That's how they kill beaver.'

  15. Maybe 5 minutessǫmaybe 6-7beavertawnlèhììkooht'e,tsà'tehmìlhè''èh.
    ᴜɴᴄᴇʀᴛtsà'you could catchthat sort of thingbeavernetwith
    'With that beaver snare you could catch about 6-7 beaver in maybe 5 minutes.'

  16. Some dunek'ulamùts'è' nùghughwùtkhudaghigheh'įį.
    wulahneratherthey're fast at itthey do it fast
    'Some people are really good at catching beaver with that.'1

  17. Wook'ànustądastsìdladǫ́h.
    I look at themI'm smallin the past
    'I watched them when I was small.'

  18. 'Iikudawǫh'undissįį.
    thatmooseaboutI'm telling you
    'I was telling you about that moose.'

  19. 'Iilakhwudighekudajoosilòòhiitl'ǫh'uyiidlèzhejoosilòòh,'uyii'òòhk'èh.
    thatᴄᴇʀᴛmy older brothermoosetoohe snared andthenthatgrizzly beartoohe snaredthat(at) carcass
    'My older brother caught a moose and he also caught a grizzly bear by the moose carcass.'

  20. 'Uyiikudaalllhunts'ahtelh'iitl'ǫh'uyiidlèzhejoolhunts'ahtelh.
    thatmoosewe brought backandthenthatgrizzlytoowe brought back
    'We brought all the moose back, then we brought back the grizzly bear.'

  21. 'Ùkoomuzùs'èhììt'è'alllhunts'alelh.
    thatits hideetc.allwe brought them back
    'We brought back all its hide and everything.'

  22. 'Uyiidlèzhemuzùsts'ehgwun.
    thatgrizzly bearits hidewe dry
    'We dried the grizzly hide.'

  23. Rug'uts'idèdlàh.
    we made for ourselves
    'We made it into a rug.'

  24. Yeah,'ùkoo'uzùslamomkeh---kedowamom'uzùs'ulàh.
    thathideᴄᴇʀᴛmoccasinforhideshe makes
    'Mom made moose hide for moccasin.'

    25. (pause)

    SH:

  25. 'Ukelhunyùsdùts.
    thick babichehe twisted
    'She twisted babiche.'

  26. MA: mmm

  27. 'Uyiikhǫhdììnìdissįį.
    thatalreadyI tell you
    'I already told you.'2

  28. 'Ukelhunyùsdudzii'èh go,kudasilòòhìì,deyǫ́'chow lesi'įįhsizèhkhę.
    thick babicheshe twistedthat's whymoosehe caughtbull moosebigfor mehe killed for me
    'She made that moose hide rope and that's how he caught that big bull moose for me.'

  29. Kwùsǫlhììyiihch'iliikwudisdiigòòlano.
    must behe broke itI thinkbut'umà'
    'I thought he broke that snare but he didn't.'3

  30. Muzèdzè'nusuda'ide.
    its corpseit's sitting immobilethere
    'It's sitting there dead.'

  31. Koohtsè'èkì'ììtladii'èh'uyiidichin,dichinguzenònèlhìdèkuyyiih.
    straight downit went down fastandthattreebetweenacrosssharp stick sticking outunder
    'He fell right between the tree, he hang down there and got stuck.'

  32. Yìtsè'èsǫ,yìtsè'è'utunekì'ììt'iiyàjàh.
    downᴜɴᴄᴇʀᴛdowntrailit became hanging down
    'It hung down on the trail.'

  33. Dèkusk'ehdzanadòògeda?Gwamuk'àsednìsdooz.
    howit will go backthereit strangled itself
    'How could it get up again? It strangled itself.'

    34. yeah

  34. 'Uyiidlèzhezǫhlaghìda.
    thatgrizzly bearonlyᴄᴇʀᴛhe's alive
    'Only that grizzly was alive.'

  35. Lhìghè''eht'ǫmuts'è'nidòòwats'inììlàh.
    oneshellon himwe wasted
    'We waste one shell on him.'

  36. Gatghudunsuget lǫ́two time.
    treeit had gone aroundlhèkwudut'e
    'It had gone around the tree twice.'

  37. Butmuts'ust'ah'udììdlòò'ii'èhghìda,'uwute'eghìda.
    its armpitit snared itselfandit's aliveveryit's alive
    'It caught him under the arm and it was still very much alive.'

  38. Yidzììì'---yitsìì'si'òòn.
    its headhe shot
    'He shot him in the head.'

  39. Kwùlayììlàh.
    he finished him off
    'He finished him off.'

  40. Kwa'iidowa,mama kwùnegàhalllhunats'alelh.
    finallythatformom and the familytowe brought pl.
    'We brought everything back to mom and them.'

  41. Gwudalababalhunadalh.
    thereᴄᴇʀᴛdadhe came back
    'Dad came back there.'

  42. "Oh,dedii,dedza'uzàahkhę'aht'a?"
    from wherewhereyou pl. killed somethingyou do (Q)
    "Holy, where did you guys make a kill?"

  43. 'Idekudats'islòòh'iilats'eh'įįs---.
    theremoosewe snaredthatᴄᴇʀᴛwe do
    'We snared this moose there that's how we did it.'

  44. "Oohyalhadàk'e'aht'į́į́ha!"khèhnii.
    ohhowsillyyou pl. dohe told us
    'Oh, what silly things you guys do!" he told us.

  45. Khuwǫhdzinududzuts.
    at ushe is surprised
    'He was surprised at us.'

  46. Mumk'ànunutą́hdadlòw zǫh 'ulę.
    he looks atwhenhe laughs
    'When he looked at mom he laughed.'

  47. Khughǫhdudlòw.
    at ushe laughs
    'He laughed at us.'

  48. "Wèlììlak'eghit'į́į́hìì'ùkoots'òòdawa kwùne."
    on purposeᴄᴇʀᴛthe things that they dothosekids
    "Boy those kids always do things like that on purpose."

  49. "Well,koowinhdįįhii'èhlanuk'èhdzè'k'eghit'į́į́hii"'èhnii.
    you teach them howbecauseᴄᴇʀᴛlike youthey're doingshe said
    "Well, you taught them how so they're doing the same as you."

  50. (laughs) Yeah.

  51. Yìdè'èkhununè'k'eh'uts'ut'e,'ùkoo,khuyewìsdl---khuyeyusdikìtda,'ùkoodiihyusyìghedèhts'ii.
    backour traplineonwe staythosewinterwintersnowit's thickwhenthosechickensnowinthey sit
    'When we stay in our trapline in winter, the chicken sit in snow (under the snow).'

  52. Kànudùlhdahe sit down low in the,'ulk'ehdudnehts'iihda.
    they come outwhenbranchonthey sit down on treewhen
    'They always come out of there and sit on the tree.'

  53. Long pole'èhmuz---mìlh'èhnùts'uleh.
    dichin kaduziiby means ofsnareby means ofwe take them down
    'We take them down with a long pole.'

  54. Kats'eh'į́į́zǫhlasome timemaybetehmè'full'uts'eh'įįh.
    we keep doinguntilᴄᴇʀᴛpacksacktùdùsmuniiwe customarily make
    'We keep that doing that until we fill up our packsack.'

  55. 'Ùkoodiih zalakat'e'èh'ute'e.
    thosespruce grouseᴄᴇʀᴛit does thatandit's good
    'When the spruce grouse do that it's good.'

  56. Kusk'ehdze'wèdè''ùkoogahjoomudowats'ìskedzii'uts'eh'įį'èh,'ùkoots'èhmutats'ududziimudowamìlh'uts'eh'įį.
    howalwaysthoserabbittoofor themspring polewe makeandthatsinewwhich we twist aroundfor itsnarewe make
    'We always made spring pole for rabbit, and we made a snare for it with twisted sinew.'

  57. Nùnusit'iiyhecan'tchewnothing.
    they hung down'udoo yèda so~ 'ooh'a'lhi'i'
    'When they hung down (on the snare) they couldn't chew anything.'

  58. Boy look nice when you snare 'em in spring pole, hanging down. Look nice. No suffer kill. Just once little tree spring up well it's there. (laughs)

  59. 'Udoo yèdajooyini'į́į́h.
    nothingtooit steals it
    'Nothing steals it too.'

  60. Didòò'ùkoo'usk'ookàndahii'ùkoowoomìlhè''èhdunegah'ììloohdameyììhawdidiih.
    nowadaysthosewhite personthingthosetheir snarewithpersonrabbitsnareswhenthey holler around
    'Nowadays when they catch them with the white man snare they just holler.'

  61. 'Ii ghàdela'ùkoomìsdzįįh'ùkoo'òòst'ędayuta'udùlh.
    that's howᴄᴇʀᴛthoseowlthosemarteneventhey eat them up
    'That's how those owl and marten catch those rabbit and take them.'

  62. Spring pole'ùkoo'èhlats'ilòòhdaairk'ehnìit'iiy'ii 'èh'udooyèh---'udoo yèdayini'į́į́h.
    ts'ìskedziithoseby means ofᴄᴇʀᴛwe snarewheninit hung downbecausenotnothingsteals it
    'That spring snare is too high so they can't take it.'

  63. He got no chance to make noise so nothing touch him. It's there.

  64. Kats'ut'elaghits'ìdaghiilè'.
    we do thatᴄᴇʀᴛwe liveused to
    'That's how we used to live long ago.'

  65. Didòò,didòò'ùkooyoung peoplenunayelhnewook'ànustą.
    nowadaysthosedune kachowanethose who are growing upI see them
    'Nowadays I see those young people growing up.'

  66. 'Usk'ookànk'èhdzè'zǫhk'eghit'į́į́hk'inaghit'į́į́h.
    white personwayonlythey do thingsthey always do things
    'They just do things white man way.'

  67. Tigheh'ine.
    poor them
    'Poor them.'

  68. Sà'è dǫ́'inawujàhdè',dǫ́'zǫhsǫwook'ewooghǫhìì.
    long time agoit became againifhungerjustᴜɴᴄᴇʀᴛit will kill them
    'If it got like long time ago hunger will kill them.'

  69. 'Udoo'ah'èhgòòlii'ugheh'įį'eghidììh.
    notsnowshoeswitheventhey makethey know
    'They don't know how to make snowshoes or anything.'

  70. Mawoodowa 'udawt'è'a?
    whowill help them
    'Who's going to help them?'

  71. Siniisǫlhàdiist'edè',oh,khǫhdììallkesdììhnoowoos'ą́hìì sį́į́.
    IᴜɴᴄᴇʀᴛI'm okayifalreadyI know howI will find them
    'If I were okay (in good health), I know it all I'll find them (and help them).'

  72. 'Ùkoo'ah,ts'èhts'ìk,behchinè'anything'ustsįįhii'esdììh.
    thosesnowshoesleightobogganwhich I make/repairI know
    'I know how to fix everything.'

  73. Any placek'e'isdlooskwùla,kwuyedewa wut'àhdzè'ghits'ìdadekwuyakesdììh.
    I drag things aroundnowthatby means of whateverwe livewherethatI know how
    'I drag around things and whatever we live on, I know it all.'

  74. 'Udooskidoojookaynuszų.'Udoo.
    nottooI wantno
    'I don't want a skidoo.'

  75. 'Udooyèdakaynuszų.
    notanythingI want
    'I don't want anything.'

  76. Suts'ùdè'k'èsdloos.
    my blanketI drag around
    'I just drag around my blanket.'

  77. 'Ùkoo'ustsudziidatsìdlak'èsdloosiiall overk'èsdah.
    thosemy foodlittle bitwhich I drag aroundI go around
    'Just bring some groceries on my blanket.'

  78. 'Ùkootsàzùschighnusleh.
    thosebeaver peltI gather them
    'I gather beaver pelts.'

  79. Kusk'ehdzelaghits'ìdaghiilè'.
    that's howᴄᴇʀᴛwe liveused to
    'That's how we lived long ago.'

  80. 'Ii tl'ǫhkòòh dǫ́lashòwaduneghìda.
    andlong time agoᴄᴇʀᴛwellpeoplethey live
    'A long ago people lived good like that.'

  81. 'Udoodunedidììh.
    notpersonis sick
    'Nobody was sick.'

  82. 'Udoolhàwììts'ididììhììkesdììh.
    notonceour sicknessI know
    'We never once got sick that I know of.'

  83. Duneìts'i'įį'usk'ookàntats'inudetlwuts'ehla,kwùdiiwe sickkhutaghnughǫh.
    personwe act likewhite personwe move in withsinceᴄᴇʀᴛjustthey're killing us
    'Ever since we got mixed up with white people we started getting sick.'

  84. Oh,khwudighe kwùnealljooghinidòòwètl'ǫhsudèdzè' kwùnejooallghinidòòwè,mama kwùnejoo,sinch'ahzǫh.
    my older brotherstoothey're goneandmy younger sisterstoothey're gonemy parentstoome aloneonly
    'So all my brothers are gone, all my sisters too all gone, my parents too, just me.'

  85. 'Ùkoots'òòdanetigheh'ine.
    thosekidsthey're pitiful
    'Those poor kids.'

  86. Sutl'ǫhdèsǫkawoot'è'ìì.
    after meI wonder whatthey'll do
    'I wonder what those kids will do when I'm gone.'

  87. Tigheh'ineboywoowǫh sudzèè' didììh'wèdè'.
    they're pitifulI feel sorry for themalways
    'Poor them, I feel sad for them always.'

  88. 'Ii tl'ǫh'ùkootwooldest onenesu'èhììt'è'dzah nùghuzut.
    andthosepl.like methey suffer
    'Those two oldest ones feel sick like me.'

  89. Kooya'udoowukaynuszų.
    thatnotI like it
    'I don't like that.'

  90. Kwùla.
    that's all
    'That's all.'

Notes

  1. wulahne 'some people'
  2. before recording this text
  3. 'umà' 'no, nothing'